


Huggable for the Holidays

by TheSpaceCoyote



Series: 12 Days of Requestmas [2]
Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Christmas Party, Fluff, Food Issues, Holidays, M/M, Ugly Holiday Sweaters, Weight Issues, chubby Tim
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-18
Updated: 2017-12-18
Packaged: 2019-02-16 16:57:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13058241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSpaceCoyote/pseuds/TheSpaceCoyote
Summary: Tim has gained some weight lately, no thanks to the holiday season, which leads to him having some issues at his own Christmas party. Thankfully, Rhys is there to cheer him up and remind Tim how much he is loved.





	Huggable for the Holidays

**Author's Note:**

> Second day of Requestmas for hyperioncompanyman! We've been talking a lot about a chubbier Tim and how Rhys would react, so here's this! :)

 Tim had been really excited for this party ever since he and Rhys had started to plan it all the way back in November. Rhys, being cut from the “Christmas starts the day after Halloween” cloth, naturally bugged Tim until he’d finally caved and agreed to host a proper party to celebrate their first apartment together. Despite his initial misgivings, it had been a lot of fun, too—buying all the decorations together, planning the menu, deciding which if any alcohol to supply. They couldn’t go as crazy as some people could with their holiday parties, but considering their budget, Tim had thought they’d done a pretty great job. They’d draped the living room in garlands of red and green and gold, covered the tables in delicately embroidered tablecloths, and spent the better part of the day prepping and cooking many different dishes. 

Tim had been really excited for this party—and then the guests had started to show up.

Specifically, Jack and Nisha had shown up.

Now, Tim didn’t have any particular ill-will towards his twin. Sure, Jack was a bit of a blowhard and had quite a large ego, but generally speaking they were on good terms. Tim hadn’t thought twice about inviting either him or his girlfriend—rowdy as they both were, one could usually count on them to keep the lifeblood going at any party. Their personalities weren’t really the problem.

It was what Jack looked like. 

Tim figured that Nisha had finally needled him one time to many about his pretzel belly, causing him to finally snap. When Tim had seen him last, he’d been gushing about he and her had just starting going to crossfit classes together as he took a sip from a big green glass that smelled like their grandma’s old garden. 

That had been months ago. Jack’s work and his jet-setting lifestyle meant he didn’t have much time to see his brother. But now that Jack was here, at the party, Tim felt himself curl up a little more in shame.

Because Jack looked _good_. He looked as fit as he’d been in college. And in any other situation Tim would be happy for his brother for finally shedding that bit of pudge that had given him so much angst over the years, except for the fact that, well. 

Tim had been seriously packing on the pounds himself recently. 

There wasn’t really any one _cause_ for it, at least he didn’t think so. Other than food being tasty and the fact that his writing jobs gave him a lot of time to sit around at the house. Maybe it was his age, maybe it was the fact that Rhys had figured out how much he liked tarts and pies _just_ as a little patisserie had opened right by their apartment. It could be any one of those things, but at the end of the day all he knew was that his pants had gotten a little more tight and his stomach looked more like a ball of cookie dough than a six-pack. 

It was like he and Jack were opposite ends of a scale, and every time one tipped up, the other would go plummeting down. 

Tim pulled up the hem of his sweater as he turned away from his guests ostensibly to grab some more punch, frowning at the soft tan flesh bulging out over the waistband of his pants. Wow. He’d really let himself go, hadn’t he? He hadn’t realized it had been this bad. 

He could’t help but be a little bit upset. Even though the party as explicitly a potluck, he’d still spent most of the day cooking and baking. The dining table was laden with a variety of delicious food—everything from baked brie with walnuts to dates stuffed with bacon to chocolate peppermint crinkle cookies—but now he didn’t feel like eating _any_ of it. 

So he ended up quietly excusing himself from the main room, retreating to the kitchen where he poured himself a glass of water with shaky hands. His fingers gripped the edge of the countertop, willing his eyes to _not cry_. As embarrassing as his weight gain probably was, being caught crying would be even worse. Especially if he was caught by Jack…

However, after a couple of moments and the sight of his belly nearly pressing up against the counter he couldn’t help himself. He sniffled, tears starting to gather in his eyes. 

Which of course, meant that someone had to walk in on him. But much to Tim’s relief, it wasn’t Jack.

“Tim?” Rhys questioned, empty bottle of wine in his hand. He frowned, looking his boyfriend up and down. “Are you okay?”

Tim whirled away, grabbing a piece of paper towel to dab at his eyes. A nervous, stuttering chuckle fell from his lips as he tried to dry his tears as fast as possible. 

“H-Hah, yeah, I’m fine, d-did you need something?” Tim snuffled, tossing the paper towel in the trashcan as he turned around, trying to face Rhys with a smile. But his boyfriend already had that disbelieving, worried look on his face that he always got whenever he knew Tim was fibbing. 

“What’s wrong?” Rhys breezed right past his boyfriend’s half-hearted attempt to deflect attention from his teary cheeks. Tim scrubbed at his face, ashamed he was crying at his own party. The raucous laughter of his guests echoing from the main room was like a fork in his chest, but Rhys’ concerned face and soft hand resting on his shoulder grounded him. He let out a tight sigh, voice shivering. 

“I….I’m _fat_.”

Rhys frowned. 

“Tim…don’t say that…”

“Well, it’s true…” Tim sulked, grabbing at the hem of his sweater and pulling it up over his belly, even exhaling harder for emphasis. “Like, _look_. There’s no way you didn’t notice.”

“I mean…yeah, I noticed, but it’s not a _bad_ thing.”

“It is when Jack is looking like _that_.”

“Tim, _jeez,_ is this about Jack?” Rhys shook his head. “I keep telling you…it doesn’t matter what your brother thinks of you.”

“It’s not what he _thinks_ , it’s what he…I mean, you see him…” Tim sniffled, feeling new tears build up. His cheeks were pink with shame, embarrassed he was letting this get to him so much. He’d always been the more sensitive twin but really? This was so _dumb_. 

“Yeah, but so what?” Rhys frowned, taking a step forward to hold Tim’s hands in his. His boyfriend’s long fingers rubbed soothingly against his skin. Tim looked away, eyes falling to the ridiculous design on Rhys’ sweater. It was bright red and sewn with a huge cartoon giraffe with a glowing Rudolph nose and plenty of glitter. They’d bought it the same day they’d bought Tim’s own sweater, decorated in a similarly outlandish fluffy kitten playing with shimmery tinsel.

“So I just think….I don’t know…I shouldn’t have all the treats other people are having…” A couple tears spilled over Tim’s cheeks only to be stopped as Rhys leaned in and firmly kissed them. He bumped their noses together, making Tim look him in the eyes as he shuffled close to his boyfriend. 

“Listen here. Santa’s all chubby and no one gives him crap for having a couple of treats during Christmastime.”

“I mean…” Tim faltered.” I’m not Santa, though. I’m just… _me_.”

“You’re as nice and thoughtful and generous as he is,” Rhys stated, wiping away Tim’s tears with one of their festive kitchen towels. “And I think someone who spends the entire year acting like a saint deserves to treat himself.”

Tim managed a smile and a tiny laugh. Having dabbed away Timothy’s remaining tears Rhys stowed the towel away and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend’s waist.

“You’re really perfect, okay?” Rhys assured, his voice low as his palms rubbed affectionately over Tim’s body. “It’s doesn’t matter what Jack thinks or what he looks like…I’m in love with _you_ , no matter what.”

“Y-You’re gonna make me cry again…” Tim sniffed as he leaned forward in Rhys’ embrace, giving his boyfriend a tight squeeze as he nuzzled against the scratchy wool of Rhys’ sweater. The sick, clenched feeling in his stomach had already started to subside thanks to his boyfriend’s affectionate words. He was about ready to pull away and rejoin the party, when suddenly the cafe door separating the kitchen from the living room banged open. 

“Heeeey, loverboys!” Nisha hollered, the cranberry sangria in her hand dangerously close to spilling. “Get out here, Jack’s saying he can beat all y’all in an eggnog drinking contest!”

Jack barged in behind her, arm wrapping around her waist and face as red as the drink in his hand. 

“S’true, I can hold my alcohol _waaaaaay_ more than Timmy can!” Jack laughed drunkenly, swaying with his girlfriend. Rhys glanced at Tim, worry in his brows, but Tim let out a tiny relieved laugh as he smiled. 

“And you wanted to have a dry party…” Rhys rolled his eyes playfully, giving Timothy’s hand a tiny squeeze as Jack stumbled further into the kitchen, arm now slung over Nisha’s shoulders. 

“So? What do you say, little brother?”

“I’m _older_ than you.”

“I meant little in awesomeness. And eggnog drinking.” Jack winked, holding up his free hand. “Prove me wrong?”

Timothy looked his brother up and down. Rhys glanced at him, ready to step in and play the distraction if Tim didn’t want this, but honestly? Jack was already pretty wasted, while Tim hadn’t had much to drink aside from some virgin apple cider. _And_ months of eating nothing but kale smoothies and granola bowls had probably left Jack with _very_ little endurance to tackle all the frothy mugs of eggnog he was boasting about.

Basically, Tim was sure he was going to win. 

He squeezed Rhys’ hand back, confidence returning as he trailed out of the kitchen after his brother. 

“Winner gets to open the first present, cupcake!” Jack cackled, already pouring way too much rum in his own glass. Tim grinned mischievously as he retrieved his own glass, Nisha already whooping and cheering them on as Rhys watched with a giggle. 

“Oh, _you’re on_.”


End file.
